Many shepherd wagons don’t have the functionality of a tiny home and are not really for full time living, however Barrel Top Wagons near Dartmoor National Park in southern England might be building some of most beautiful and practical mobile wagons around. Now they just have to make it over the the U.S. 🙂
Barrel Top Wagons build several kinds of wagons and even some mobile lodges, but their handcrafted Living Wagons are large enough to house one to two people and can be used as a vacation home, office, investment rental or even a full time home. The Living Wagons are 8 foot wide and come in 22 foot and 25 foot lengths.
The wagons have outdoor steps made of larch wood, round and casement windows, sliding doors and kitchenettes with beech countertops, a two-burner stove, fridge and sink. The dining area has upholstered foam benches with storage underneath and a sleeping loft above. They can be hooked up to electrical and solar and heated with a Windy Smithy wood burning stove. Bathrooms can also be installed and connected to an electric hot water heater. The beautiful wood interior is made from locally grown timber and finishes are available in cedar, Douglas fir or larch.
The Living Wagon starts at around £18,000 or $23,300.
Photos by Barrel Top Wagons
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
These are beautifully done for a modern vardo, but I think too much space is dedicated to the ‘dining’ area; especially for one person only.
I’d either put the kitchen across the back (so one could look out the cratch window,) or put a loo (wet bath) in there with a shower as one builder’s option (and use the cratch window for ventilation for shower humidity,) with the bed on top.
Then I’d put a wall mounted, drop leaf table under one of the first of the circle windows with a wooden slat folding chair (that could also be used to sit out on the ‘porch’) hung on the wall next to one of the circular windows.
And I’d offer a storage staircase as another builder’s option.
These are really nice and I love the choice of colors. If these vardos are/were affordably priced, I could see them as being a very popular choice for folks on the drom or as a guest spot out back.
I’d like one myself! 😉
I believe the dining table and bench cushions actually convert into a bed–note the approximately 2″ wide strip of wood fixed just below the cushion on the bench seat–there is undoubtedly one on the opposite bench; the table legs probably fold up allowing the table top to be lowered to rest securely rest those two strips. The seat cushions are then unfolded to create a 4″ foam mattress. I would guess that there is storage for linens below the benches.
Love this, towable, needs bathroom, and less dining more kitchen and living area bed could be loft style
I would def consider for retirement travels Love the quality of craftsmanship
These are so cool! I love that there are so many varieties of tiny houses!
Hi Folks,
This is Jo from Barrel Tops here. Thanks so much for posting about us, and for your comments. The wagons can, and do have showers included – and toilets too, although we prefer to keep the space loo free by putting compost toilets outside. This is obviously not ideal for all circumstances and we work closely with customers to design a bespoke structure to suit their needs. We place great emphasis on using locally grown wood – we have great wood here in the south west of UK. Douglas fir, larch, cedar. All pretty and versatile. Do check out our FB page and sign up for our mailing list to hear what we’re up to. Thanks again!
…. and check out details of our brand new wagon, ready to roll this week.
If it doesn’t have a bathroom, it’s not truly a house.
Is there room for an Incinolet? This is a potty that incinerates and leaves you with potash. With the solar off grid you could replace the gas stove with an induction cooktop and have a rain gutter to capture rain for a rain barrel. Check out the EcoPod. It uses solar wind and has a water collection system built into the roof.
I have absolutely fallen in love with the modern Vardo concept. I love this type of roof. I live in Texas, USA and there a plenty of abandoned old cotton trailers around (swinging front axle tongue) They would be perfect for building one of these. My only problem is figuring out how to make the support beams for the roof.
Love your wagons.